A 17th century Miniland observatory! By scrutinous study through the giant telescope, the Miniland astronomer Galilego Galilei discovered that the Sun is the centre of the solar system.

About this creation

The idea for this MOC came when I was writing the page for my previous MOC, the Legoversity of Medicine. Because next to medical science, astrophysics is the most wonderous story the Universe tells us. This is my tribute to astrophysics and astronomy!

The cosmic dance of the celestial bodies has always captivated human curiosity. We have always looked up and wondered at the mysteries of the stars, but lacking scientific method and equipment, many myths and stories were invented to put an explanation to the night sky. But, as knowledge of optics expanded, so did the human view on the Universe, with the invention of the refracting telescope early in the seventeenth century.

Earlier, in 1543, Copernicus published the book in which he described the theory that the Sun is the centre of the solar system; revolutionibus orbium coelestium. This did not immediately start a revolution; only when Galileo, with his new telescope, proved it when he published Sidereus Nuncius in 1610.

Modern day astronomy is dominated by radio telescopic observation, a lot more sensitive way to scan the sky than refracting or reflecting telescopes, enabling to look deep in the depths of space. But they cannot compete with the Hubble Space Telescope; the scientific insight gained from the images taken from the dawn of the Universe is only matched by the beauty of those images.

Building an observatory that was as functional as possible, got out of hand when the notion struck that through a functional telescope one can see distant planets and galaxies, or even flying saucers!

This MOC was built inside out, and top to bottom... Not very efficient, but a nice way to create a smooth line from top to bottom. It had to become a cutaway model to constrain the size the project grew to as construction progressed.

The telescope was the first thing I built. I wanted it as large as the biggest wheel I could find, larger would make it easier to build the working wheels that turn and tilt the telescope.

The inside out caterpillar tracks that form the base of the dome decided on the size of the observatory. The dome could be turned by spinning a wheel inside the observatory that drove it round, but at the last moment I had to remove it. It was impossible to cover the gears in a way that fit with the rest of the MOC. Secondly, because the dome and tower beneath it became more sturdy and rigid during construction, the mechanism started to function less and less smoothly. Building the dome gave me a tremendous headache, and almost made me give up, but finally, I just sat down and built brute force a dome that marginally passes acceptance criteria...

The first floor of the observatory is the lazy man's way of building a round tower. The big draw back of it is, is that you have to have a lot of hinge bricks... On the floor a star pattern mosaic points to north, east, south and west. The trap door is sadly superficial...

The ground floor of the observatory is a quite recent trick to building round towers, with diagonally stacked 2x2 bricks. Since the floor above had to be empty to allow 360 degrees observation of the night sky, all furniture had to be on the ground floor.

Dalv is looking at a micro-scale version of Galilego's observatory in the library. A little table scrap model to fill the room... Lacking a huge collection of books, the shelves are stuffed with suitcases and laptops as well, and jumper tiles in some of the bookcases.

Galilego Galilei is sitting behind his desk, wondering who could be the sender of the strange letter he received...

Every respectable scientist in Miniland has an Igor. So has Galilego, his Igor works the wheels of the telescope and keeps a warm fire burning for his master.

In the cupboard, Galilego keeps a bottle to keep his insides warm. Dalv is wondering what the renaissance man is doing with a classic space gun... What's next, a pinnball machine?

To save on grey slopes and limit the size of the base of the mountain, I cut off large sections. On one side the mountain cutaway reveals a fossil dinosaur.

Spring comes early this year, blossoms are blooming and the snow capped peak is thawing. The waterfall flows again, with icy cold water.

Galilego lives with his wife in a small house in the valley below the observatory.

Galilego, his wife, and the cat of course. No room for Igor though, not even in the attic...

The planets are stuffed in just because they fit... Building the MOC from top to bottom, took careful planning to create the telescope slideshow in the mountain. Pulling the chains on either side of the view hole, moves an image of a nearby gas giant and a distant nebula. Behind them, an alien travels by in his flying saucer.

The lights are operated by remote control. Again, just because it fit... As it is a pain to operate two remote controls with one hand, and a camera in the other, I was very glad I left the power functions accessible enough to hotwire it for the photos!

Here is another walk around photo series, unbrushed... I apologise, that wall socket is awful!

There was a lot of frustration in this build, and the project has laid dormant on multiple occasions, but slowly grew, stretching my brick collection to the absolute limit...

I don't know how I haven't commented on this. This is probably one of my favorite - and under-appreciated - MOCs on the pages. It's jam packed with fantastic detail, wonderful landscaping and so much stuff I can't fit it all in this comment. Well done sir!

WOOOOOW! I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner this is brilliant work. I love the cottage. The telescope is fantastic . The library and the desk are beautiful . I'm in Lego heaven . The mosaic on the floor is great. This gets a 10/10 in my book.

Quoting Tim C
Hello again. I keep coming back for another look of this beauty. I like to feature some of my favorite MOCs on my page in what I call the Pick of the Week. I would like to feature this MOC sometime in the future. Would I have your permission for that?

Hello again. I keep coming back for another look of this beauty. I like to feature some of my favorite MOCs on my page in what I call the Pick of the Week. I would like to feature this MOC sometime in the future. Would I have your permission for that?

This is astonishing. So many great details. First off, it looks great from the exterior. Those wrap-around tiles look fantastic to create that cylindrical look, and the rickety stairway is perfect. The waterfall was very well-conceived, and a nice cottage next to it. My favorite part is the interior, though. I love the bookshelves and the roll-top desk is an amazing touch. Very well done.

Fantastic work! So many very cool little details, not to mention the observatory itself, the building behind it and the landscape as well. Extra points for the anacronisms (the space gun & pinball table), the buried prehistoric animal and the pun on Gallileo's name :-D

The amazing details of the build itself are matched only by the truly stunning functions you have crammed in, "just because they fit." ;) Definitely a masterpiece! The telescope is awesome and the round tower technique fabulous. The landscape also seamlessly merges with the observatory, creating a very natural look. Well-done!

Certainly a masterpiece, with that fantastic amount of funny ideas you put into it! I understand your suffering with stetching your collection, but I think that it has been worth the wait! What are the two chains for, that comes out through a couple of small holes in the lower corners on one of the sides¿?

What a magnificent build. The shift in building techniques to continue the circular observatory up are nice transitions and a good use of bricks. The anachronisms made me chuckle. But most of all I enjoyed walking through this setting and seeing all the sprinkles of details throughout.

Brilliantly detailed and well thought out building. The telescope is great fun. I like how you've used a variety of techniques to make round observatory. It's great that you've set the observatory in a landscape, with the houses and the rocky mountain, with its gorges and waterfall. Lastly, I love the dinosaur skeleton, hidden under the mountain. Excellent building!

Absolutely incredible. You never cease to amaze, but this is beyond anything I would have expected. Every section is meticulously detailed with brilliantly styled techniques which enhance the creation. The interior function is an ingenious and completely phenomenal aspect; the icing on the cake. I really like both the landscaping and architectural work as well, the observatory is perfect as is the house. Kudos on creating such a masterpiece.